There were no cheap dates on Monday night, as residence hall students auctioned off their favorite student leaders.

More than $840 was raised in less than one hour at the date auction in the Knapp-Storms Commons.

“I figured we would do a little bit better than breaking even, but holy crap,” said David Breutzmann, Towers Residence Association programming chairman.

Breutzmann, sophomore in computer science, said only $120 was spent on the gift certificates from Hickory Park awarded to the highest bidder and his or her date.

“Our intention was to have fun, not really to raise money,” he said. “We did both.”

All profits from the auction will go to the Shriners Children’s Hospital, which helps children of families with lower incomes with their medical setbacks. One audience member had a special reason for making his bids.

Mark Roepke, Lower Friley Hall representative, was given an artificial leg from the Shriners Hospital when he was 7 years old.

“I think it’s great,” said Roepke, freshman in pre-business. “It’s the least I can do to give something back.”

After Roepke turned 21, he was no longer eligible to receive funding from the Shriners Hospital. He said when he was younger, all of his artificial legs, doctor visits and a knee surgery were covered by the Shriners.

“I figure there was a minimum of $100,000 that they provided me over the years, plus the cost of doctors,” he said.

Roepke bid on seven different dates and had the highest bid on four of them. Now, he is giving $175 back to the Shriners.

The highest dollar amount was given by Paul Duncan, Inter-Residence Hall Association president, who kept on bidding until he reached $245 for a date with Niki Garrett, sophomore in zoology.

“We did a good thing tonight,” said Duncan, junior in transportation and logistics.

Some of the bids were a group effort and others made the promise to read poetry by the lake to their date to increase the amount. Richardson Court Association President Andy Walling, junior in pre-business, was auctioned off for $21 to a cluster of girls who put their cash to a good cause.

Charlie Johnson, Government of the Student Body vice president-elect, was also up for bids.

“I was asked by David [Breutzmann] to do this, and being up for just about anything at this point, I said `yes,'” said Johnson, junior in political science.

Each date auctioned went for a profitable amount, and no one was denied the opportunity to be auctioned off.

“I thought it was fun,” said Jenny Larson, junior in political science. “I’m glad I went for more than $20. It’s for a good charity and it got a lot of people out for Residence Hall Week.”